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Planning to drive up to to Anna Maria Island for Memorial with the hubby. We figured we'll bring our bikes but is there anything else we should make sure to see? Where's the best place to eat ? (we'd be looking for good fresh "beach" food like grouper sandwiches, etc but not touristy)

Thanks All! We're Floridians so we want fresh! Love love love fresh seafood but when it's bad it's reallly bad so I appreciate the recommendations. I've heard that the Sandbar is hard to get into since it gets so crowded. Would definitely be interested in cruising over to Starfish Co if that's where the good stuff is

Thanks All! We're Floridians so we want fresh! Love love love fresh seafood but when it's bad it's reallly bad so I appreciate the recommendations. I've heard that the Sandbar is hard to get into since it gets so crowded. Would definitely be interested in cruising over to Starfish Co if that's where the good stuff is

I would recommend Mar Vista over either Sandbar or Beach House (yes all three are owned by Chiles Group...); MV is the best of the three by far.

Oh yeah, Mar Vista! Forgot all about it...that was great. Didn't realize they were commonly owned. We were outside and it started to rain a bit but didn't bother moving. Met a nice local real estate fellow there, too.

Banana Cabana is right across the street from the Beachhouse and has Macademia nut encrusted grouper that is to DIE for.. a bit pricey but not anymore than Beachhouse- very good food- super small and fun atmosphere..

It's kind of funny going in The Mar Vista now. When I was a kid it used to be called The Pub and it was pretty much a bait shack with cheap burgers and fries. As a kid I lived over on Hughes St right down the road and I'd ride my bike there after school to play the Pac-Man machine in the front lobby. It's come a long way since then!

You might also want to try Moore's Stone Crab Restaurant, right next to the Mar Vista. Moore's used to have a dolphin that would swim in the pen right outside the restaurant and they would feed it at various times of the day. All the kids in the village would go swimming with "Jackie" the dolphin after the restaurant closed.

yum! Now just trying to decide: Starfish or Rod and Reel, hmmmmm. I heard there's now a bike path on the island?

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